Fallen Under His Protection
by wereleopard
Summary: Tony is tired of everything. He's trying to be the best leader he can be, its never enough. Director Shepperd is trying to force him undercover. It is time he left before the job destroys him. One man steps forward and makes sure Tony is taken care of. Tibbs Slash.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Fallen Under His Protection

Pairing: Tibbs

Rating: Adult

Spoilers: All of NCIS

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with NCIS

Summary: Tony is tired of everything. He's trying to be the best leader he can be, its never enough. Director Shepperd is trying to force him undercover. It is time he left before the job destroys him. One man steps forward and makes sure Tony is taken care of.

Feedback: Yes please

Chapter One

Tony stood in front of Jenny's desk. He reached over and handed her a plain white envelope. She just stared at him, and then finally grabbed it when he didn't say anything.

'What is it?'

'My resignation.' He replied simply.

Jenny's mouth fell open in shock. 'Your resignation?' She paused as she gathered her thoughts together. 'I'm afraid Agent DiNozzo I am unable to accept your resignation at this time.' She needed him for her undercover op. He was the best choice. Tony was charming, and an excellent agent with great undercover skills. With him in the op there was no way it could fail. If she sent anyone else Jenny knew she would have doubts, and would be checking all the time.

'Well madam director.' He watched her scowl at the title. 'It's not up to you to accept my resignation or not. I have sent a copy to HR as well as SecNav with the reasons why. I've left out your op for now, but if you continue to block my resignation he will find out about it.'

'Fine.' Jenny snapped and then slammed the envelope on her desk. 'You may leave after your resignation period.'

'I've actually been to HR, and because of the time I have on the books, and we aren't currently working a case I'll be leaving now.' Tony would've normally helped whoever was going to replace him. No one thought he was good enough to be team lead so there was no point on passing what he knew on.

'Today? We need you to train up your replacement.' Jenny argued she wanted him around so she could work on him.

'You don't need me. I've heard you and Ziva talking.' Tony grinned as she paled. 'The only reason you kept me on as the team leader was because of your op. You thought it would make me more agreeable. You should have told McGee and Ziva to actually do their jobs, and not to question me all the time. I know you also want Gibbs back, not only at NCIS, but also in your bed.'

Red splotched appeared on her face as she tried to control her anger. 'Make sure you leave your ID, weapon, and cell phone when security escourts you out of the building.' With that she looked down at the open file and began to read.

As soon as he walked out and the door closed behind him he took a deep breath.

'Tony, are you okay?' Cynthia watched him with concern.

'I'm fine.' Tony smiled and winked at her. 'Take care of yourself Cynthia, and don't work too hard. Make sure you have a life outside of this place.'

'Take care of myself? Are you going somewhere Tony?'

'I'm leaving today actually. I just handed in my resignation. There is no longer a very special Agent named Anthony DiNozzo.'

Cynthia couldn't hide the shock and sadness on her face. 'I'm going to miss you Tony. You always made me smile, and made me feel good about myself. I know things had been difficult for you since Gibbs retired. I wish I could have done something to help.'

'I appreciate the thought Cynthia and I'm glad that I could make you feel better.' Tony gave her one more smile and then turned and walked away.

Cynthia watched sadly as one of the most loyal and caring man had been driven out. She had actually started to hate working here. She sighed and then carried on with her job. It could be time to start looking for a new one.

XXXXX

McGee watched as Tony walked towards his desk with a box in his hands, and a security guard next to him.

'What's going on Tony?' Ziva watched him as he packed away his desk. 'Have you been demoted or transferred?'

'None of your business, no and no.' Tony started to place his personal items into the box. The only person that he had told he was leaving was Jimmy. He'd left letter for Ducky, Abby, McGee and Gibbs if he ever came back.

'Goodbye McGee.' Tony smiled sadly at him. He missed that young agent that was so eager to learn.

'Aren't you going to say goodbye to me Tony. I know you'll miss me. I know what you true feelings for me are. You're in love with me.' Ziva whispered seductively.

Tony just laughed at her. 'You're going to crash and burn. Your skills as an investigator aren't great. You also think about yourself. You only care about your needs.' He paused for a moment. 'How I feel about you? You're delusional, because there is no way I would ever love you. I'm not even attracted to you now. So please get over yourself.' Tony then turned to McGee. 'Watch your own back, with no one else on the team you don't have anyone. Don't count on her.'

Tim just stared at them, not saying anything. He didn't want to be dragged into the middle of this. Tony finally headed towards the elevator. He could feel Ziva's glare. It made him chuckle. The security guard looked at him strangely, he then watched as Tony struggled to balance the box. The guard reached out and pressed the button to call it to their floor.

'So you're leaving then?' Balboa asked as soon as he reached Tony.

'Yeah, I am.'

'I don't blame you. I tried to talk to them, all of them. I wanted them to see how they were treating you. I know the only one doing it on purpose was Ziva. I also brought it up with the director.' Balboa turned to Tony when he laughed. 'Yep it was obvious that she wasn't going to do anything. It seemed as if she wanted you to feel alone.'

'She did.' Tony smiled at him. 'Thanks for trying though, and for all the lunches and dinners. They really helped.'

'I wish I could've done more. They're going to realise what you actually do, and the skills you have.' He passed over a card to the former NCIS agent. 'Keep in touch, and let me know how you're doing?'

'I will.' The elevator doors opened and in walked Tony and his shadow. 'See you around Balboa.'

Balboa hoped that this would be looked into. Shepperd and David shouldn't be allowed to get away with what happened. The harassment to make Tony feel alone was disgusting. It was so clear what Ziva was doing. Tony had admitted that the director was doing it on purpose.

Once the other agencies found out that he was a free agent there was going to be a feeding frenzy. A lot of people would be offering some great opportunities to him there was no doubt about that. What Tony needed at the moment was a friend, someone he could rely on. Balboa grinned when he thought of the perfect person.

He pulled out his cell, and pressed speed dial.

'Hey Fornell, it's Balboa. It's about DiNozzo.'

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

N/B I couldn't resist yes Director Skinner is Walter Skinner from the x-files.

XXXXX

Ever since Gibbs had left, and they had cases with the F.B.I, Balboa had seen how concerned Fornell was about Tony. He had done his best to help while they had been teamed up. Fornell had seen how things had become worse, and told Tony to call him if he needed anything at all. It seemed as if they F.B.I agent knew that things were going to explode at some point. Balboa hoped that Fornell could actually help DiNozzo.

XXXXX

Tony walked into his apartment and dropped the box onto the table. All of his years at N.C.I.S fitted into it. As he looked up he glanced around at where he lived. It looked like it was from a magazine. It didn't scream out Tony DiNozzo. There was no movie memorabilia, nothing. It fitted with the image he portrayed. When had he become that person altogether? Why had he hidden elements of himself? Instead, he came across as vain, and a joke. It worked when dealing with criminal elements they always believed that they could play him. He shouldn't have needed to do it with friends and team-mates.

Tony chuckled bitterly. 'What friends?'

The change of clothing all happened after Danny and Wendy. He used clothes as armour against other people. It portrayed am image. The not settling down, that was all about Wendy, he never wanted to be hurt like that again. The joke was on him though, the person he had fallen in love with was a man. A man, who had left and broken is heart, smashed it actually. It hurt more than it did when Wendy left. It wasn't Gibbs' fault he never knew how Tony felt. It didn't matter now though. He had been blind when it came to Danny, and he wasn't good enough for Wendy. Why would other people think differently? Tony shook his head, now was not the time to be thinking about this. The negativity was not helping.

His apartment didn't feel like home, it was just a place he slept. He rarely invited people over and definitely not the people he slept with. The only place that felt like home was Gibbs'. Tony loved staying there. He guessed it was more to do with the man himself than the actual building. He needed to make huge changes in his life. He couldn't keep living like this.

Tony sighed when he heard a knock on the door. He'd hoped that he would get a little time to himself. He wanted to figure out where he could get away for a while so he could figure out his future. It couldn't be somewhere obvious. That would have to be put on hold while he dealt with whoever wanted to talk to him. Tony walked over to the door and looked through the peephole.

'I'm seeing things.' Tony muttered. 'This can't be good.' He was sure that Jenny didn't put out anything to have him arrested. He finally opened the door as that was the only way he was going to find out. 'What the hell are you doing here?' Tony glared suspiciously at his visitor. 'You're not here to arrest me for murder again or any other reason?'

Fornell snorted. 'No, I'm not, Balboa called me. I did do my best to help you kid, but working in another agency there is only so much I could actually do.'

'I know.' Tony had noticed that Fornell insisted that the two of them worked as a team. He listened to Tony's ideas without any attitude or jokes. Fornell also praised him in front of the others. 'I did notice. I never thanked you for that. I'm sorry it's taken so long. Fornell thank you for everything you did to try and help me. Thank you for making my life a little easier when you could.'

'Don't worry about it. You had enough on your plate as it was. All the thanks I needed was the relief and a smile on your face.' Fornell suddenly started to laugh. 'I bet Shepperd hated the calls from my director?'

'What calls?' Tony had no idea what he was talking about.

'Son of a bitch, with everything going on and what I picked up I should have known she wouldn't tell you.' Fornell hated her more and more.

'Tell me what?'

'My director called her and complimented you. He told her how lucky and proud she must have been with an agent like you.'

'Really, why would he do that?' Tony blushed; it had been a long time since someone of a higher rank had praised him.

'It wasn't just me kid. On the cases we worked with you, you had been the one that figured out the missing piece, no one else. The other agents with me also noticed how you were being treated, and how professional you were. Whatever was said you carried on. If it weren't for you, we would still be stuck on that last case, and that little girl Laura might have died. Her father is good friends with the director, after he met you he told him that you had the whole package to go far in the business.' Fornell held up his hands to stop the sudden barrage of questions. 'Director Skinner called me in and asked me about you. What were my opinions and thoughts about you? He'd also heard things about Shepperd; she's not been as quiet as she thought. He wanted to offer you a job. At the time, I said you wouldn't leave NCIS. Let's just say I spoke to him before I came here and mentioned things might have changed. Let's get you rested up and then you can decide what is best for you.'

'So you're not here to offer me a job?' Tony asked he was really confused now.

'No, I'm not; there is one if you want it. I'm here to take you away and hide you until you're ready to see anyone and to make your own decision about your future. Now go and pack what you actually need and let's get the hell out of here before someone comes looking for you. It won't be long before other agencies find out and will come looking for you.'

'Job offers?' Tony questioned as he headed towards his bedroom.

'What the hell has everyone done to you? I could kill Gibbs; the closed mouth son-of-a-bitch. The other agencies only stopped offering you jobs because they realised you would keep turning them down. You have an amazing skillset.'

'Where are we going?'

'I'll tell you in the car. Will your neighbours say anything?' Fornell had wanted a little time before he was bombarded with queries.

'No, everyone on this floor is at work this time of day, and unless they are physically at the door they don't notice anything.'

'Is there a way out you can go without camera's picking you up?'

'Yeah, there is a door out the back. It has a numerical lock, I do happen to know the number. The front entrance has a camera. That is the only place so far they are slowly adding the upgrades so no one gets bothered by non-stop noise.'

'The number still works then?'

Tony turned and grinned at him. 'I check on a regular basis, you never know when it might come in handy.'

'I'll head out back the front alone.' Fornell handed him a piece of paper. 'Go straight to this address, they're expecting you. I'm going to wait here for a bit to mess up any timeline if people come looking. I'll then head to the office and tell update the director that I did make a general job offer to you. I'm not actually sure what he wants to offer you.'

'Tobias Fornell, has anyone mentioned that you're very sneaky?'

Fornell chuckled. 'It has been mentioned.' The smile suddenly vanished from his face. 'Don't worry DiNozzo, you're not alone. Whatever you need I'll do what I can to help.'

'Thank you Fornell.' Tony gave him a small, honest smile. He was amazed what the older man was doing to help him.

'It's Tobias, Tony. That's what my friends call me.' He answered gruffly.

XXXXX

Tony had hitched; taxied, bused and finally made it to the address he'd been given. Before he had arrived home, he had drawn out a large amount of cash from the bank. Until he was ready, he wasn't going to use things that could trace him. He had no phone as it was NCIS property, his car was back at the apartment, no one had seen him leave and with all the alleyways, and ducking through different buildings he wasn't followed.

Tobias had stayed in his building for a little longer making it look like Tony was still there. Tony had no idea how long the F.B.I agent would wait for. He'd ask when he saw him next.

Tony walked towards the house that he had been sent to. He had no idea what to expect. His draw dropped open after he had knocked on the door and it had opened.

'You're here to help me, why?'

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

XXXXX 

'Why don't you come in first and then I'll answer all your questions.' The woman smiled at him, as she led him into the building.

Look Mrs…..' Tony paused for a moment. 'What are you going by now? I don't mean to be rude, but….' He shrugged his shoulders as he stopped talking.

'I'm still using the name Sterling, but I am seeing Tobias again. We've decided to give it another go.'

'I guess that explains why you're helping me.' Tony laughed. His body released more of the tension it had held onto. 'Why are you being so kind to me? I mean the last few times we've met you've been….' He waved his hand around.

Diane just chuckled for a moment, and then looked at him thoughtfully. 'You've been through a lot. I'm giving you a break.' She smiled suddenly. 'When you are back in top form, I'll be back to the bitch you know and love.'

Tony laughed. 'Thank you.' He told her seriously. 'I don't know what I was going to do if Tobias hadn't turned up. I had thought about just packing up and leaving, never to come back. I'm just so very tired.' Tony whispered wearily.

'No one is going to think of looking for you here at my house. You can stay as long as you need to. Once you are rested and are ready we'll be here to help you figure out what you want to do next.' Diane promised him.

Tony had been made so many promises, and most of them had been broken. He'd stopped believing in people for a while now. Being here in this house, with this woman, he actually believed her.

'Tobias told me about the F.B.I wanting to hire me.' He felt as if he should seriously consider it.

'Well, it is one option, maybe more will appear. Don't say yes just for Tobias, he wouldn't want that. Not with everything you've already been through. Just forget about it for now and get some rest. Your room is this way.' Diane watched as Tony stumbled slightly. She could see the fatigue in his slouched frame, pale skin and the huge bags under his eyes. She reached out and helped to steady him.

'Sorry.' He apologised as he tripped again. His body had been on alert for so long, and now that he felt safe he suddenly never felt so tired.

'It's okay.' Diane went upstairs and opened one of the doors. 'Here you go, this is your room.'

Tony walked inside the warm and homely looking room. 'My room.' He whispered.

'Get some sleep and come down when you're ready.' Diane told him.

'What about Emily?' He asked.

'She's at a friend's house tonight. She knows that you're going to be here. No matter what time you wake up there will be a plate of food waiting for you downstairs, all you'll need to do is just heat it up.'

'So this is more for just tonight then?'

Diane noticed the change in Tony's voice and attitude. He suddenly seemed like a lost little boy who was afraid he was going to be thrown out. She wanted to go and hurt all the people that had made him feel like this.

'This is your room for as long as you need it.' Diane promised him. 'I'll see you when you get up.' She watched Tony nod, and then she left him alone shutting the door behind her.

Tony looked around the room again. He couldn't believe who the two people that had come through for him were. He collapsed on the bed and fell asleep immediately.

XXXXX

'That poor boy.' Diane whispered as Tobias walked in.

'He's not really a boy Diane.' He held her tightly, but he couldn't believe how bad things had become for that young man.

'You didn't see him earlier. He came across as a lost little boy ready to be thrown out at any minute. He thought that he would only be here for a night and we wouldn't help anymore. That's how it seemed to me. What kind of childhood did he have?'

'I don't know, but if he can take the shit that Jethro throws at him, and stayed it couldn't have been pretty.' Fornell answered.

'Talking of Jethro, are you going to call him?'

'Not yet, I want him to be in a lot better shape before anything like that happens.' He was going to make sure Tony got the rest he needed.

XXXXX

Jenny had given it a couple of days before she tried to contact Tony. She had hoped that he would have cleared his mind and be thinking straight. She also wanted him to be in a better mood, one to which meant he would agree to the undercover op.

When he hadn't gotten in contact with her asking for his job back, Jenny had gone to his place. There had been no answer when she knocked, so she had no choice but to pick the lock. It was useful to keep some skills sharp. He wasn't there. The mail had built up at the door. When she entered the bedroom, the dresser drawers were open as were the wardrobe doors. Tony had apparently packed some things and left. Before she left Jenny went down and grabbed the security tape for the front door. Jenny had explained to the apartment manager that it seemed as if he was missing, and they needed to find out if he had any visitors.

Once she had arrived back at the office, Jenny did a little investigating herself. He had drawn out a large sum of money as soon as he had left the office. Apart from that there had been no other movement on his account. His cell phone was property of NCIS so it was still here and wouldn't be any help. When she checked out the location of his car, it was still at Tony's apartment.

Jenny sat at her desk and forwarded through the tapes. She watched and pressed stop as Tony arrived at the building. She looked down at her notes. He evidently had gone to the bank and then went straight home. Jenny was glad it was a slow day for her, well as slow as they could be. This was important, so she had told Cynthia not to disturb her unless it was an emergency. She pressed forward and watched as numerous unknown people walked in and out of the building. That was when her mouth fell open, and she paused the tape again. Tobias Fornell had just gone in.

'Why's he visiting DiNozzo?' She muttered to herself.

He had stayed there for an hour, and then he left alone. Tony never went out the front entrance after that. Jenny knew that he was gone. So when had that happened? He could have been hiding out in someone else's apartment in the same building. If not how had he left? If there was another door, did it have any cameras?

First things first she really needed to find out why the F.B.I needed to talk to Tony, or was it a personal visit? Had Jethro sent him? Had either of them already heard about him quitting? Well, Jenny knew that she could find the answer to at least one of those questions. She grabbed the phone and called the director of the F.B.I Walter Skinner.

XXXXX 

Fornell grinned as he put the phone down. He wanted to call Diane and tell her what had happened. That was so she could pass it onto Tony, but he wouldn't. They could talk tonight. He wasn't going to do anything that would make anyone suspicious. There was no way anyone would be able to figure out Tony's hiding place, not until he was ready. It seemed as if Jenny still hadn't given up on him. Whatever she wanted Tony to do was something serious and probably very dangerous. Fornell that Tony was up to telling him. It might help things in the long run.

XXXXX

Jenny couldn't believe that they had actually offered him a job, with all his antics, and at times childish behaviour they still wanted him. She still wanted him as well. He had the skills she needed, and if he didn't come out alive, well that was life. Their jobs were dangerous after all.

She couldn't spend any more time on this. Not without something new to go on. She finally had told Cynthia she was available again. Jenny had to now think of someone else who could be used in the undercover op.

'Damn you DiNozzo.' She muttered.

Jenny looked up at she heard a tap on her office door. As she looked up, Cynthia walked in with an armful of paperwork.

'Agent Burley is here to see you.'

The director smiled, Burley would do nicely for this op. He wasn't as good as DiNozzo would have been, but he would do.

'Thank you Cynthia.' She watched as her P.A. placed the paperwork on her desk. That was all the job seemed to be. Sometimes she missed being an agent, but she loved the power she wielded now, and no one was going to take it away. 'Please send Agent Burley in.'

'Of course director.' Cynthia replied, turned and walked away.

Jenny watched as the other woman left. Something was wrong. There was usually a warm sound to Cynthia's face. That had all changed recently, everything her P.A did was polite and correct, but there was a slight coldness to it. She thought back to when it turned and groaned. It had been straight after DiNozzo had resigned. It was probably all over the yard by now. Jenny hadn't even thought about his absence had said. It had evidently become more widely known if the F.B.I had already offered him a job. They had stopped asking because they knew that he would never leave Gibbs. For agencies that hated to work together, and pass information when needed, they did like to gossip. She didn't mind when it worked in her favour. This time it didn't. It wouldn't be long before the calls started to come in. Jenny remembered stories that Morrow told her about how people kept enquiring after Tony.

Jenny had to get her mind back onto the task at hand. Stan Burley. She knew exactly what to offer, and how to flatter him to get exactly what she wanted. This is how gossip worked in her favour. Morrow once again had been full of information when it came to Gibbs and the people that worked for him.

Stan's feelings for his ex-team leader were something she could definitely take advantage off. Her office door opened and in he walked. She must have missed it when he knocked.

'Director, thank you for seeing me.' Burley walked over to her.

'Please have a seat Agent Burley, and how can I help you?'

XXXXX

It had been a couple of weeks since Burley had been in charge. No one had heard or seen anything of Tony. Ziva didn't have time to, and didn't even care enough to worry about her missing ex-partner. She had run to her apartment and grabbed what she needed. She wouldn't be back until this misunderstanding had been sorted out. It wasn't her fault that he'd died of natural causes. Just because she had a certain skillset it didn't mean that she always used it. It was only used when she deemed it necessary.

Ziva thought about going to Burley, after all he was her team leader. She couldn't, no she wouldn't do that as he would be a complete waste of time. Burley didn't have an opinion of his own, whatever Jenny wanted, or what her opinion was it became his. If she said jump, he would just do it. It wouldn't occur to him to even ask how high. Ziva knew that she could play him if she wanted to. In this instance that wasn't a good thing, Burley didn't have the mentality to do what was needed as she would. There was only one man that did.

That man was Gibbs. He really was the only one she could call. The man who wouldn't be able to say now as he owed her something, Ziva needed Gibbs to help her.

XXXXX

'Gibbs.' He answered brusquely. It had been weird hearing his phone ring. Jenny had insisted that he keep it in case they needed to call him about any previous cases. If they did, they really hoped his memory would've completely come back. When it rang, a pair of amused green eyes flashed into his mind. Tony. He had been disappointed when he heard a feminine voice. 'Yes Ziva. Why don't you speak to Tony, he's your team leader.' He suddenly stood up and the chair he'd been sat on fell backwards. 'What do you mean DiNozzo quit? You don't know? Do you seriously expect me to believe that? Yeah, okay I'll come.'

Gibbs put down the cell and turned to Mike.

'So you're going to rush in and save the Mossad chick? How did she ever manage without you?'

'I'm going to see exactly what the trouble is. I haven't decided if I'm going to help her yet. What I am going to do is find out why the hell DiNozzo quit, and how Burley ended up in charge.'

'Burley,' Franks mumbled. 'Wait, wasn't he the guy that was your SFA before DiNozzo? Didn't he have the hots for you?'

'Yeah, that was Burley. What the hell's going on Tony?' Gibbs whispered.

'When you do find out what happened to your boy, and when you see him how about you fucking tell him how you feel about him. Then take the stud for a ride.' Franks chuckled.

Gibbs glared at his mentor, who just laughed harder, and then started to cough. He wasn't going to do anything at the moment. He had to find out what the hell was going on.

TBC


End file.
